Chandigarh, January 9
In its continuing crackdown on corruption, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau has arrested Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Sarabjit Singh, posted at Police Station City Phagwara (District Kapurthala), red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹5,000.
The bribe was taken in exchange for helping to secure bail for the complainant’s parents.
A spokesperson for the Vigilance Bureau stated today that the arrest was made following a complaint lodged by a resident of village Issarwal, District Jalandhar.
According to the complaint, the complainant’s parents were booked at Police Station City Phagwara. ASI Sarabjit Singh called the complainant to the Phagwara court complex in connection with the investigation into his parents’ case. During this meeting, the ASI allegedly demanded illegal gratification and threatened that if the money was not paid, the complainant’s parents would be sent to jail.
Under pressure, the complainant paid ₹2,000 to the ASI on the spot.
Later, when the complainant visited Police Station City Phagwara along with his parents (who had come to join the investigation), the ASI again demanded ₹10,000 to help get bail for the parents. As the complainant could not pay the full amount at once, he gave another ₹2,000 and was told to pay the remaining amount later.
Subsequently, the ASI called the complainant near Rawalpindi Police Station and took another ₹2,000, again asking for the balance. Even after the complainant’s parents were granted regular bail, the accused continued to demand the remaining bribe money.
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In total, the ASI had already collected ₹6,000 from the complainant in three separate instalments.
Following a preliminary enquiry into the complaint, the Vigilance Bureau laid a trap and caught the accused red-handed while accepting ₹5,000 in bribe money from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.
A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against ASI Sarabjit Singh at Vigilance Bureau Police Station, Jalandhar. Further investigation is currently underway.
